Mayor Proclaims October 6 Fort Wayne Community Schools’ “FAFSA Kick-off” Day
Proclamation to be Delivered at FAFSA Event
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry issued a proclamation declaring Saturday, Oct. 6, Fort Wayne Community Schools’ (FWCS) “FAFSA Kick-off” Day. The proclamation will be read at 10:30 a.m. during the “FAFSA Kick-off” event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at FWCS’ Family and Community Engagement Center (FACE), 230 E. Douglas Ave., with parking at the nearby Bill C. Anthis Center parking lot, 1200 S. Barr St.
Experts from FWCS and Purdue University Fort Wayne will offer free assistance to those interested in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Filing the FAFSA, a government form that streamlines the financial aid process for students wishing to get a college degree or credential, is necessary to qualify for assistance and reduce student loan burden.
In addition to free FAFSA assistance, the event also will include:
- food trucks, starting at 11 a.m. (FWCS high school seniors and one guest each can receive a meal voucher after filling out the FAFSA form.)
- t-shirt giveaways for students completing the FAFSA form
- music provided by DJ Rello
- games and activities
- opportunities to win incentives for FAFSA completion, including: a Visa gift card, various spirit baskets and three Purdue Fort Wayne scholarships
To file the FAFSA form, a student and one parent or guardian must each have a federal student aid identification and are encouraged to sign up for these online at fsaid.ed.gov prior to the event. Families also must bring their 2017 tax returns. Spanish translators will be present.
The kick-off event marks the beginning of a schedule of activities hosted at all five FWCS high schools and Purdue Fort Wayne’s campus to emphasize the importance of completing the FAFSA form. Universities and credential programs use the FAFSA as a basis for their offers to students of financial aid toward education or training after high school.
“The FAFSA Effect: You’ll never know if you don’t FAFSA,” the local campaign to spread the word about the importance of filing the form, is the result of a $35,000 grant from the National College Access Network (NCAN) made to the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership in collaboration with Purdue Fort Wayne and FWCS.
“Many students don’t realize they must file a FAFSA in order to be considered for financial assistance,” said Shenita Bolton, K–12 college and career readiness manager for FWCS. “Our goal is to help all our high school seniors complete the form, even if they are unsure about their plans for the future, so that financial assistance for college and trade career education options after graduation are open to them.”
Krissy Creager, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management and student success at Purdue Fort Wayne said the university also will have administrators and students available to help with the FAFSA and speak with FWCS students about college.
For further information, email Shenita Bolton at Fort Wayne Community Schools at shenita.bolton@fwcs.k12.in.us or Krissy Creager at Purdue Fort Wayne’s financial aid office at creagerk@pfw.edu. High school seniors and families can also receive help completing the FAFSA by going online to fafsa.gov or calling 1-800-433-3243.
About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the public-private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by focusing on business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.414.2431
kate@NEIndiana.com
